Rather than violate the law or assess every student a flat fee, Harvard simply avoids the issues altogether--limiting forms of payment to cash, checks or electronic wire transfers.

But for those students and parents who need more flexibility in paying Harvard's admittedly large tuition bills, Strauss says the College offers a monthly, interest-free payment plan that she says can be considered a significantly cheaper stand-in for a credit card.

Among the Ivy League, at least, Harvard's policy with regard to credit cards is still in the majority--only Columbia permits charge-able tuition.

Throughout much of the country, however--and especially among larger public institutions--the use of credit cards to pay for tuition has become big business.

Many colleges cite large savings from moving to a more electronic form of payment--and some even see it as a convenient service that helps attract students.

But after fours years of allowing plastic, Tufts University in Medford took itself out of the credit card market in 1997, citing mounting losses from the fees that credit card companies skim from every tuition payment.

"The costs were quite substantial and far in excess, from a corporate perspective, of any benefit that the institution could derive," says Thomas S. McGurty, vice president for finance and treasurer at Tufts. "I think many people, quite frankly, were using [the payment option] to realize frequent flier miles. It just didn't make economic sense for the institution as a whole."